The school says the center will be a four-story, 110,000-square-foot building will consist of a two-story section containing student services, food services, wellness facilities, and common areas. It also will feature a two-story student housing element that contains an elevated, exterior quad area.

The ground plane will have an outdoor amphitheater and dining spaces, and multiple outdoor lounges and multipurpose areas.

Plans call for the center to be an energy-efficient, sustainably designed building that includes controlled natural light, rain gardens, a green roof/terrace, light and motion sensors, low-volume plumbing and low-VOC materials.

The remaining portions of Curtis and Meigs Hall, which now occupies the site, will be recycled and integrated into new building materials to minimize the impact on environmental resources.

HuntonBrady Architects, in collaboration with Rhodes+Brito Architects, won a national design competition for the project. The first phase of architectural drawings for the center are scheduled to be completed early next year.